How do you involve your customers and stakeholders in your preventive maintenance process and outcomes?

1 Identify your customers and stakeholders

Your customers and stakeholders are the people who use, benefit from, or influence your equipment performance and reliability. They may include internal or external users, managers, suppliers, regulators, or other parties. To involve them in your PM process and outcomes, you need to identify them first and understand their needs, expectations, and feedback. You can do this by conducting surveys, interviews, focus groups, or other methods of communication and consultation.

2 Communicate your PM goals and plans

Once you have identified your customers and stakeholders, you need to communicate your PM goals and plans to them clearly and regularly. This will help them understand the value and benefits of PM, the scope and schedule of your PM activities, and the roles and responsibilities of each party. You can use different channels and formats to communicate your PM goals and plans, such as newsletters, reports, presentations, meetings, or dashboards.

3 Involve them in your PM activities

Another way to involve your customers and stakeholders in your PM process and outcomes is to invite them to participate in some of your PM activities, such as inspections, tests, audits, or reviews. This will give them a chance to see how you perform PM, to provide input and feedback, and to learn from your best practices and lessons learned. You can also use this opportunity to train them on how to use and maintain your equipment properly and safely.

4 Share your PM results and achievements

After you complete your PM activities, you need to share your PM results and achievements with your customers and stakeholders. This will help them appreciate the impact and outcomes of PM, such as improved equipment performance, reliability, availability, safety, and efficiency. You can also use this opportunity to celebrate your PM successes, recognize your team members and partners, and solicit suggestions for improvement. You can share your PM results and achievements using different tools and metrics, such as key performance indicators (KPIs), benchmarks, charts, graphs, or case studies.

5 Solicit their feedback and suggestions

One of the most important ways to involve your customers and stakeholders in your PM process and outcomes is to solicit their feedback and suggestions regularly and systematically. This will help you understand their satisfaction, needs, expectations, and challenges, and to identify areas for improvement or innovation. You can solicit their feedback and suggestions using different methods and sources, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, complaints, compliments, or referrals.

6 Implement their feedback and suggestions

Finally, you need to implement their feedback and suggestions in your PM process and outcomes. This will show them that you value and respect their opinions, that you are committed to continuous improvement and customer satisfaction, and that you are responsive and adaptable to their changing needs and expectations. You can implement their feedback and suggestions by making changes or adjustments to your PM goals, plans, activities, results, or achievements, and by communicating and demonstrating those changes or adjustments to them.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?